Getting Started at Smith

Welcome to Smith College! We are pleased to have you as a member of our community and hope that you find your association with the college to be an enriching and engaging work experience.

We invite you to share with us your questions and thoughts about work life at Smith College. The Office of Human Resources is ready to assist you in any matter that concerns you and your career, and we look forward to working with you.

During your first weeks of employment, it's important that you have all the information you need to start off on the right foot. Below are the answers to some commonly asked questions. If you do not see something that you are looking for, please feel free to contact us.

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New-Hire Information

The Human Resources Staff

The Office of Human Resources is staffed by dedicated professionals who are committed to partnering with employees to create a positive, inclusive and productive work culture. While all of the human resources staff are trained to answer your general questions, specific staff administer particular benefit plans and programs.

We know that each day faculty and staff make an important commitment to Smith College—the commitment to work to the best of their ability in support of our mission to provide the highest quality education to women. We're proud of these offerings and know that, together with the continued dedication and support of our outstanding faculty and staff, they form the basis of what makes Smith College a great place to work.

Spending time away from work is important to achieve a good balance between work and life. Smith understands this and provides many opportunities for flexibility to spend time as needed. These benefited leaves include: family related leaves, flexible work schedules, holiday, personal and vacation time.

The Staff Handbook is designed to acquaint you with the employment policies and benefits for administrative and administrative support staff of Smith College. Each member of the college community is responsible for reading and complying with these policies and procedures.

Smith College has a Code of Conduct that outlines principles, policies and some of the laws that govern the activities of the college and to which our employees (faculty, staff and students) and others who represent the college must adhere.

The college has only 1,560 parking spaces for more than 2,080 registered faculty and staff vehicles. Unfortunately, there are no easy and quick solutions. The utilization of available space combined with enforcement of parking rules and regulations is critical to both vehicular and pedestrian safety and to insure that the beauty of the college grounds is preserved. Campus Police requests that all members of the community comply with the spirit and the letter of the regulations at all times.

The Smith College OneCard is a multipurpose photo ID card issued to all Smith students, faculty and staff. In addition to identifying your status at Smith, your OneCard provides access to a variety of campus services.

If you are injured at work or while performing a job-related function required by the college, you must report the accident to your supervisor immediately and complete a First Report of Injury Accident Report form (see Forms) within 24 hours. Workers' compensation insurance provides partial income replacement and medical care payments for employees who experience a job-related injury or illness.

The athletic department's Get Fit Smith classes are open to the entire Smith community on a drop-in, first-come basis. With fun and relaxation in mind, workshops include yoga, Pilates, awesome abs, strength/conditioning training, personal training and aerobics.

Campus Resources

Campus Center

This 56,000-square-foot facility provides students, faculty and staff with a comprehensive environment for social and intellectual interaction. The Office of Student Engagement complements Smith's academic mission by providing and supporting opportunities for learning through cocurricular involvement.

The Campus Center Café offers a wide variety of food and beverages, including gourmet pizzas prepared in a stone hearth oven, salads made to order, homemade soups, Panini and deli sandwiches, and grilled foods including vegan and vegetarian selections.

The Smith College Campus Police is committed to protecting the lives and property of the Smith College community. As a part of the larger college community, Campus Police strives to foster an environment where diversity is celebrated; where all are made welcome; and where all rights are preserved.

The Office of College Relations communicates news and information about Smith to the media, other off-campus constituencies, and the campus community. It also fosters involvement within the community to increase communications and maintain positive relations between the college and the city.

The Smith College Computer Store sells hardware, software, accessories and more at educationally discounted prices. The store offers computer systems from Apple and Dell, as well as printers from Epson and HP. With a valid Smith College ID, students, staff and faculty are eligible for the store's special pricing. If the store doesn't have what you're looking for in stock, it can be special ordered—often at an academically discounted price.

Smith College Copy and Mail Services provides a variety of services for the college community, including distribution of campus mail, preparation of outgoing mail, automation and addressing services, mail metering, parcel shipping, direct mail, and a full range of postal services, including shipping by United Parcel Service.

Diversity in all aspects of the educational environment is necessary for achieving the highest level of academic excellence. At Smith, we place a high priority on achieving and supporting diversity among our students, faculty and staff in the areas of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, disability and age. We believe that when a community is rich with varying perspectives, outlooks and values, the potential to prepare its members to deal more readily with complexity and to participate productively in a pluralistic society is greatly increased.

Facilities Management is responsible for the majority of maintenance, repair and alterations to Smith's 120 residential, academic and administrative buildings—with a total of approximately 2.8 million gross square feet of space on 125 contiguous acres.

Located on the ground floor of the Campus Center, the Grécourt Bookshop is your one-stop source for textbooks, school and room supplies, general reading materials, Smith memorabilia, gift ideas, photo developing and more.

The User Support Center (USC) provides telephone, email, web-based, and walk-in support for Smith students, faculty and staff. The technical support analysts in the USC help users resolve problems with standard desktop software, electronic mail, database and query tools, voicemail, printing and the Banner system.

College Publications

The Smith eDigest is sent to all campus email accounts on Tuesday and Thursday each week during the academic year, and on Tuesday during the summer. This helpful resource provides important notices, college news, links to articles of general interest to the community, deadline notifications and other college information.

Since its inception in the spring of 1992, the Smith College Staff Council has provided a comprehensive communication network for the exchange of information between staff and administration; organized college-wide programs to facilitate personal and professional growth; promoted college-wide discussion of issues through public meetings and forums; and planed "extracurricular" activities such as trips to New York City, cookie swaps and the media exchange.